UK Parliament / Open data

Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for the opportunity to speak during this important debate on the draft Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008. It is a matter of most importance to the protection of children and adults in Northern Ireland. I want at the outset to declare an interest as the Northern Ireland chair of Barnardo’s. The Minister has outlined many of the positives in this legislation. It is a modernisation of the law on sexual offences in Northern Ireland, the first for 100 years, and a codification in one statute. It includes the abolition of consent as a defence for sex with a child under the age of 13; tougher sentences for those who exploit children under the ages of 13 and 15; new offences, such as sexual activity with children; laws that are gender neutral in their application; and a range of other protections, such as the abuse of trust provisions. It is most important that we realise that the vast majority of the provisions in this legislation are aimed at providing increased protection for children and are most welcome on that basis. One issue has dominated the debate on this order in Westminster and at the Northern Ireland Assembly; that is, the age of consent. Part of the difficulty is that the concept is not fully understood, on which I shall say a few words before dealing with other aspects of the order. The law currently does not create a criminal offence for a young person to have sex; rather it is the person with whom the child has sex who is committing offences in certain circumstances. This order recognises that a young person over the age of 16 is able to consent to sexual activity without the other person committing an offence. In doing so, it brings Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, stops a contradiction in laws where a young person can get married in Northern Ireland at 16 and respects the rights of young people to make decisions about their lives. In reality, the new provisions, by virtue of the offence of sexual activity in Articles 16 and 20, strengthen—not weaken—the protection for children up to the age of 16. Despite having an age of consent of 17 in Northern Ireland, it has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the United Kingdom and I work with many of those young people on a daily basis. This highlights that it is other social welfare mechanisms, education and prevention, and not the law, that are important in encouraging young people to avoid early sexual activity. It would be very wrong, indeed a travesty, if an incorrect interpretation of current law should be allowed to overshadow all the child protection measures in this order. I should like also to deal with a few other issues of policy underpinning the order and I have a number of detailed, specific questions for the Minister, to whom I have given some advance warning in the hope that he will be able to put his answer on the record in Hansard. This order is fairly complex and much of its outworking will be in the devolved areas of health and so on. Can the Minister confirm that the NIO will issue guidance on the legislation, and can he say something further on the interface between Article 20 sexual offences against children committed by children or young people and the existence of reporting requirements under Section 5 of the Criminal Law (Northern Ireland) Act 1967, which the Government have indicated will not immediately be disapplied by virtue of Article 79? Can he also confirm for the record that it is certainly not the intention to criminalise normal consenting activities between competent young people, and will the Public Prosecution Service issue guidance on this? Can the Minister confirm what steps officials from the NIO will take with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in the development of child protection guidance for professionals in terms of the new law in dealing with children who seek contraceptive advice? Does he agree about the absolute need for professionals to be clear on the bounds of confidentiality and when children should be referred for their protection? Finally, both the NSPCC and Barnardo’s campaigned during the passage of the 2003 Act and the consultation on the order that there should be a statutory requirement on social services to lead a multi-agency assessment on children who sexually harm others? The Government decided not to do so, and I think that that was a mistake. Young people sexually harm others for a variety of reasons, and it is fundamentally important that they have access to adequate assessment, treatment and support. It is a complex policy area covering reserved and devolved matters, the police, the PPS and the courts, health and social care and so on. I seek an assurance from the Minister about the handling of these cases under the order and ask him to commit the NIO, the court service and the PPS to leading discussions about the care and prosecution pathways for this group of vulnerable children, and to ensure that an adequate inter-agency policy is devised to deal with them. Will he give a timescale for the completion of such guidance and the outcome be reported back? Finally, if an opinion is asked for in a vote, I urge Peers to think carefully and not to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
703 c94-6 
Session
2007-08
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
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